T-Mobile today officially announced the roll out of the Android 1.5 for the T-Mobile G1. Customers will receive the new software updates by the end of May. Here is today's T-Mobile announcement:

"T-Mobile USA is excited to offer its T-Mobile G1 customers new software updates, including Android 1.5. Starting at the end of next week, T-Mobile USA will begin rolling out Android 1.5 to T-Mobile G1 customers. The over-the-air update, which all G1 customers should receive by the end of May, will provide customers with many new feature enhancements and updates, such as:

? An on screen full QWERTY keyboard.? Video record and playback capabilities.? Easy uploading of photos to Picasa and videos to YouTube.

A: In very simple terms, "Android 1.5" is the next version of the software that runs the T-Mobile G1. Also in very simple terms, "Cupcake" is the codename for a highly anticipated set of improvements for the T-Mobile G1. Much of Cupcake is included in Android 1.5.

Q: What will be included in the Android 1.5 update?

A: Key features of the update include:

* An on screen full QWERTY keyboard * Video record and playback capabilities * Easy uploading of photos to Picasa and videos to YouTube

NOTE: For a complete list please see the Android 1.5 Feature List.

Q: How do I use the new features?

A: The new features will be easy to use, especially if you already have a G1. Check back here soon for Step-By-Step How-to's with screen shots!

Q: What do I have to do to get the update?

A: Nothing. When the update is released, it will be sent out in random batches over a period of several weeks to T-Mobile G1 owners.

Q: When will these random batches of updates begin to be sent out to customers?

A: We plan to begin sending out the update starting the week of May 11th. As with previous software maintenance releases, the update will be randomly sent "over the air" to T-Mobile G1 customers. We expect everyone will have their update by the end of May.

Q: Will everybody receive the update at the same time?

A: No, the update will be sent out to random batches of T-Mobile customers over a period of several weeks. One person may receive the update right away, and somebody else standing next to him/her may have to wait several more days. This all happens randomly.

Q: How will I know when my G1 has received the update?

A: Your G1 will notify you, and ask if you would like to download and install the update.

Q: Will applications I downloaded from the Market (free and/or paid) work on Android 1.5?

A: Most applications should work. However, there will likely be some applications that will not work. The applications are maintained by independent developers, not T-Mobile or Google. If you have concerns about a particular application, please contact the developer of that application to ask or encourage them to make the application compatible with Android 1.5. The developer's email address is listed in the Android Market along with the application.

Q: Can I manually install the update?

A: T-Mobile will only send the update out randomly over automatic "OTA" (Over The Air). T-Mobile does not support customers manually downloading and installing the update. However, veterans of the T-Mobile Forums know that the community has historically created their own manual updates.

A: There is nothing these departments can do to send the update to your device.

Q: How can I know when my phone is scheduled to receive the update? Can T-Mobile Customer Care, Technical Support, PDA Support, or other T-Mobile department tell me?

A: There is no way to know when you will receive the update. These departments do not have such a schedule, and therefore have no information on the timing of your update.

Q: I already installed a version of "Cupcake" manually. Will I get the update automatically?

A: G1 devices that have been manually updated with an early version of Android 1.5 will not receive the Android 1.5 OTA as the device already assumes it has received the software.

T-Mobile does not support manual installations and will not assume responsibility for any device problems or failures as a result.

Q: I heard that T-Mobile UK/International began rolling out Android 1.5 to their customers at the beginning of May. Why is it taking T-Mobile USA so long to provide this update to customers?

A: Based on feedback from these Forums and independent software developers, T-Mobile USA became aware of concerns with application compatibility. Therefore, additional time was allowed to give developers a chance to update their applications.

Any word on how severe the application incompatibility issues actually ended up being?

Some rumors were claiming that extreme numbers of apps would stop working and need significant updates, which some people felt was especially unreasonable since this is the first-ever update to the Android OS.